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Prince William and Princess Kate pay touching tribute to the late Queen as they arrive in Boston

As they begin their three-day trip, the Prince and Princess of Wales have arrived in Boston, with Prince William paying a moving tribute to his late grandmother, the Queen.

William and Kate were welcomed by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, First Lady Lauren Baker, and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito after arriving in Boston on a British Airways flight from London.

 

The Prince and Princess of Wales
PHOTO: CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY

 

The Prince issued a statement in which he expressed his gratitude to Governor Baker and The First Lady of Massachusetts for their cordial welcome into Boston. “Catherine and I are delighted to be back in the United States,” he said.

“I would like to thank the people of Massachusetts, and in particular the people of Boston, for their many tributes paid to the late Queen on this, our first overseas visit since the death of my grandmother.”

 

The Prince and Princess of Wales
PHOTO: CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY

 

“She had very fond memories of her trip to celebrate the bicentennial in 1976. My grandmother was one of life’s optimists. And so am I. Because of this, we started the Earthshot Prize last year with the goal of building a truly global platform that would encourage urgent optimism and hope as we work to save the planet’s future.”

“Thank you to the people of Boston. Thank you so much for letting us hold the Earthshot Prize’s second annual competition in your wonderful city. I’m looking forward to meeting many of you in the coming days with Catherine.”

 

The Prince and Princess of Wales
PHOTO: CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY

 

The royal couple took a commercial flight and is being chauffeured around in a hybrid Range Rover to keep in line with the green theme of their trip for the Earthshot Prize.

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Two private secretaries, two assistant private secretaries, and members of their communications team are also in attendance.

The Earthshot Prize will be the main focus of the trip, and the ceremony itself will be as environmentally friendly as possible. Visitors are encouraged to dress sustainably by wearing recycled, re-used, or vintage clothing.

The green carpet and show set will be decorated with more than three acres of plants, including native and locally cultivated evergreen and deciduous trees from New England.

 

The Prince and Princess of Wales
PHOTO: CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY

 

The MGM Music Hall, where the show will take place, is within 100 miles of all the flowers, and all the plants will be donated to nearby community-based organizations after the show.

The same green carpet that was used for the ceremony at Alexandra Palace last year will be used in Boston, and the show lighting will be LED battery-operated. There won’t be any single-use plastics and all of the makeup used will be mostly vegan and certified cruelty-free.

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